Latch bolt assembly

ABSTRACT

A cylindrical latch bolt assembly insertable in a door edge for cooperation with a door latch operating assembly is described. The housing for the latch bolt has a pair of slits on the sides adjacent the door faces so that the outer end of the housing can tilt relative to the inner end and the exposed face can conform to the edge of a beveled door. An elastic U-shaped spring retainer permits easy assembly of the latch bolt into the housing.

Ramsey 1 1 Feb. 19, 1974 LATCH BOLT ASSEMBLY [75] Inventor: Joe B.Ramsey, Walnut, Calif.

[73] Assignee: Acme General Corporation,

Monrovia, Calif.

[22] Filed: June 9,1972

21 Appl.No.:26l,5l7

[52] US. Cl 292/169.21, 292/337, 287/23 [51] Int. Cl. E05b 9/02, E05c1/08 [58] Field of Search 292/1, 163, 337; 248/49;

Schlage 292 337 x Check. 70 450 x Primary Examiner-Joseph H. McGlynnAssistant ExaminerRichard P. Tremblay Attorney, Agent, or FirmChristie,Parker & Hale [5 7] ABSTRACT A cylindrical latch bolt assemblyinsertable in a door edge for cooperation with a door latch operatingassembly is described. The housing for the latch bolt has a pair ofslits on the sides adjacent the door faces so that the outer end of thehousing can tilt relative to the inner end and the exposed face canconform to the [56] References Cited edge of a beveled door. An elasticU-shaped spring re- UNITED STATES PATENTS tainer permits easy assemblyof the latch bolt into the 1,808,318 6/1931 Pleister 292/1 UX housing2,878,049 3/1959 Linton 292/337 X 2,937,897 5/1960 Soderberg 292/337 X14 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures M4 4 we K M6 M9 A22 *4? 111M111 v- X! "I II l I //g 1 /z/ 1 LATCH BOLT ASSEMBLY BACKGROUND Many doors are madewith their side edges perpendicular to the faces of the door so that itmakes no difference from a structural point of view which face of thedoor is inside or outside when the door is closed.

Some doors that fit closely into their frames are provided with a bevelon the edge adjacent the latching edge of the door, this permits theleading corner of the door as it closes to clear the jamb while stillmaintaining a very close spacing between the edge of the door and thejamb when the door is closed. When such doors are closed only a verythin crank is seen between the trailing corner of the door and the jamb.Absent such a bevel on the door edge, the leading corner of the doormight strike the jamb. Such a bevel on the door edge is typically onlytwo or three degrees from being normal to the face of the door.

In some types of latches a rectangular flange is fastened to the dooredge by screws after a recess has been mortised. Such an arrangementpresents no substantial problems when mounted on either a normal orbeveled door. e

Door latches have been devised wherein the housing in which the latchbolt is-mounted is merely hammered or pressed into a hole in the edge ofthe door. The latch bolt assembly may be held in place by interlockingwith a latch operating assembly inserted into an opening through thedoor. The latch bolt housing typically has an exposed end facesurrounding the latch bolt, which preferably is flush with the dooredge. Typically, the housing may have a small flange at its outer endwhich becomes imbedded in the wood of the door when driven in placewithout any requirement'for mortising.

The end face flange is flush with the door edge when the door has anormal or perpendicular edge. In the case of a door with a beveled edge,the flange will typically be raised above the edge of the door nearerits leadingfac'e which is unsightly and may actually interfere with thestriker plate on the door jamb. It is therefore desirable to provide alatch bolt assembly wherein the same latch bolt housing can be used foreither normal or beveled edge doors.

A door latch operating assembly and a generally similar latch boltassemblyare described in US. Pat. No. 3,580,622, filed May 12, 1969, byPhilip R. Morgan. Many of the parts disclosed in this patent aresuitable for use with the improved latch bolt assembly described andclaimed herein.

Previously complex structures have been required for assembling a latchbolt into the housing or as in the Morgan patent the spring retainer hasbeen forced into place by deforming the housing. This has requiredrather high forces that-usuallynecessitate mechanical means forassembly. It is desirable to have a latch bolt assembly that can be puttogether by hand.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION There is, therefore, provided in practiceofthis invention according to a presently preferred embodiment, a latchbolt assembly having a latch bolt housing with a first slit through theside wall of the housing on the side adjacent the leading door face anda second slit through the housing on the side adjacent the trailing doorface; A web between each of the ends of the'first and second slits onopposite sides of the housing is sufficiently bendable for. opening thetrailing slit and closing the leading slit so that the leading edge ofthe hous ing can tilt relative to the trailing edge thereof enough toconform to a beveled door. The latch bolt is preferably retained in thehousing by a spring and spring retainer that is elastically bendable foreasy insertion in the housing. The inner end of the latch bolt ispreferably split and elastically collapsible to fit through the hole ina door during installation while still retaining adequate width for usein the assembled door latch.

DRAWINGS These and other features and advantages of the invention willbe appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to thefollowing detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein FIG. 1illustrates in longitudinal cross section a latch bolt assemblyconstructed according to principles of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the housing for the latch bolt assembly of FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is an inside end view of the housing of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a face view of the latch bolt of the assembly of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION in their assembled relation in the longitudinal crosssection of FIG. 1. The latch bolt housing 101 is in the general form ofa hollow cylinder so that it can be easily driven or pressed into acylindrical hole (not shown) bored into the edge of a door. A pair ofopposed ribs 106 on the exterior of the housing prevent it from rotatingin the hole once it is driven in place.

At its inner end the housing has a pair of flat bottomed grooves 107which engage a portion of the latch operating assembly (not shown) withwhich the latch bolt is used. The latch bolt operating assembly isfastened in an opening through the door from one face to the other andserves to retain the latch bolt assembly by way of the grooves 107.

The interior of the latch bolthousing is cylindrical except for a flat108 near its outer end, namely that end adjacent the edge of the door.The flat 108 is opposite a corresponding flat longitudinal side 109 onthe latch bolt 102 so that when the latch bolt is installed in thehousing it is prevented from rotating.

The latch bolt has a beveled face 111 opposite the flat face 109. Thesefaces on the latch bolt cooperate with the striker plate (not shown) onthe door jamb in a conventional manner for latching a door.

At the opposite end (inner end) of the latch bolt from the striker plateengaging faces are a pair of approximately parallel legs 1 l2 spacedapart by a central longitudinal slot 113, a ramp 114 on each of the legs112 cooperates with the latchoperating assembly for retracting the latchbolt in a manner described in greater detail in my copending US Pat.application, Ser. No. 261,516, entitled IMPROVED DOOR LATCH.

The latch bolt has a central longitudinal slot 1 16 between side walls117. A. raised spring seat post 118 is integral with the latch bolt inthe central slot near its outer end. One end of the coil spring 103 isseated on the spring seat 118. The opposite end of the coiled spring isseated on a similar post 119 on the spring retainer 104. The springretainer is in the form of a flat, generally U-shaped plastic memberhaving the bight of the U seated against a transverse stop web 121 atthe inner end of the central longitudinal slot 116. The legs 122 of thespring retainer 104 have an outwardly flaring portion near their extremeends to .provide a ramp surface 123 on the outside of the U.

To assemble the latch bolt into the latch bolt housing the spring andspring retainer are assembled on to the latch bolt in a position withthe legs 122 straddling the transverse web 121 substantially as shown inFIG. 1. This sub-assembly is then pressed longitudinally through thelatch bolt housing from its inner end. The ramp surfaces 123 on the legsbear against the end of the housing and elastically bend the legsinwardly to fit into the cylindrical bore of the housing. Thesubassembly easily slides along the length of the housing until the endsof the legs 122 reach a pair of transverse apertures 124 in the side ofthe housing, this permits the legs to snap outwardly and, to someextent, limit further insertion of the latch bolt sub-assembly into thehousing. The ends of the legs of the spring retainer bear against thewalls of the apertures 124 and enable the coil spring 103 to bias thelatch bolt towards its extended position for engagement with a strikerplate.

At its outer end the latch bolt housing has a tapered peripheral flange126 that limits the extent the latch bolt assembly is pressed into thedoor. The outer face of the peripheral flange is flush with the edge ofthe door when the housing is pressed or hammered into place. Near itsouter end the housing 101 has a pair of opposed slits 127a and 127kextending through the wall on the portion nearer the trailing andleading faces of the door respectively. Between the ends of thesetransverse slits are webs 128 which connect the inner and outer end ofthe housingxThe slits provide a localized weakening of the wall of thehousing, and the webs are sufficiently bendable that the outer end ofthe housing can be tilted with respect to its axis. Thus, in effect, thehousing is made of an inner cylinder of substantial length'that fitsinto the hole in the door and typically is parallel to the faces of thedoor when it is installed, and a second shorter cylinder near the outerend and also fittable into the hole in the door. These two cylinders areinterconnected by the webs 128 which are bendable so that the outercylinder can tilt relative to the innercylinder.

When the latch bolt assembly is installed in a door that has an edgenormal to its faces the two cylindrical portions of the housing remainaligned. When the latch bolt assembly is inserted in a door with abeveled edge the webs bend slightly and the outer cylindrical portiontilts so that the peripheral flange 126 is flush with the beveled edge.Such a tiltingv may be only l to 3 in conventional beveled edge doors.

This tilting of the outer cylinder also tends to close up the leadingslit 127b nearer the leading face of the door and widen the trailingslit 127a. The extent of such opening and closing is relatively smallbut there was a concern that the slight steps introduced into theinterior of the housing could catch on some portion of the latch bolt as'it moves through the housing and thereby impede its operation. Theslits 127 are therefore made quite narrow near the root adjacent theinside wall of the housing. They are made relatively wide near theoutside of the housing to assure complete clearance for the requiredtilting and also to provide adequate strength in the molds preferablyused for injection molding of the plastic housing.

The concern for catching of the latch bolt on any minor steps introducedby tilting of the outer end of the housing is also evidenced by a verythin web 129 at the root of the slit 127b which becomes more closed whenthe assembly is inserted in a beveled door. This web is typically lessthan about 0.010 inch thick and has little, if any, effect on theability of the outer cylindrical end of the housing to tilt. This webdoes,'however, provide a smooth transistion between the tilted anduntilted portions of the housing and further guarantees that the latchbolt will not catch on any slight step in the interior of the housing.This is clearly an optical feature and may be deleted, if desired,leaving .a completely open slit at each side of the housing. It mightalso be noted that a very thin web can be left at the root of each ofthe slits, if desired, to guarantee a smooth transition between tiltedand untilted portions of the housing. This can be done effectivelywithout substantially impairing the tiltability of the outer end of thehousing but it is a difficult matter for injecting molding. It has notbeen found to be necessary and the risk of undesirable flash due weightimperfect webs could be more serious than the very slight steps actuallyencountered in the illustrated arrangement.

The parts of the latch bolt assembly with the exception of the coiledspring are preferably made of an injection moldable plastic material.This provides a light weigh economical construction that has been foundto operate satisfactorily over long periods of time. A broad variety ofsuitable plastic materials are available and some are disclosed in theaforementioned Morgan Patent.

Many other modifications and variations will be apparent to one skilledin the art and it is therefore to be understood that within the scope ofthe appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than asspecifically described.

What is claimed is:

1. In a latch bolt assembly having a cylindrical housing fittable into ahole in the edge of the door, an improved housing comprising:

a relatively longer inner cylinder insertable in the hole in the edge ofthe door for alignment with the hole in the door;

a relatively shorter outer cylinder coaxial with the inner cylinder andincluding a door edge engaging flange; and

a pair of webs interconnecting the inner and outer cylinders on thesides of the housing nearer the top and bottom of the door wheninstalled, said webs being sufficiently bendable to tilt the outercylinder relative to the inner cylinder enough to bring the flange intoengagement with the bevel on a standard door.

2. In a latch bolt assembly as defined in claim 1 an improved housingwherein the inner cylinder includes a plurality of longitudinallyextending raised ribs for inhibiting rotation of the cylinder'wheninstalled in a hole in the door.

3. In a latch bolt assembly having a cylindrical housing fittable into ahole in the edge of the door, an improved housing comprising:

an inner cylinder insertable in the hole in the edge of the door;

an outer cylinder coaxial with the inner cylinder and including a dooredge engaging flange;

a pair of webs interconnecting the inner and outer cylinders on thesides of the housing nearer the top and bottom of the door wheninstalled, said webs being sufficiently bendable to tilt the outercylinder relative to the inner cylinder enough to conform to the bevelon a standard door; and wherein the inner and outer cylinders areseparated by transverse slits in the housing wall extending between thewebs; each of the slits being relatively narrow nearer the inside of thehousing and relatively wider near the outside of the housing 4. In alatch bolt assembly as defined in claim 3 animproved housing furthercomprising a thin transition web across at least a portion of one of theslits adjacent the inside surface of the housing.

5. In a latch bolt assembly having a housing suitable for insertion in ahole in the edge of the door and a latch bolt in the housing, said latchbolt being longitudinally slidable in the housing and engageable with alatch bolt operating assembly, an improved latch bolt housingcomprising:

a first slit through a side wall of the housing on the side adjacent theleading door face;

a second slit through the side wall of the housing on the side adjacentthe trailing door face; and

a web between each of. the ends of the first and second slitsrespectively on opposite sides of the housing, said webs beingsufficiently bendable for relative opening of the trailing slit andclosing of the leading slit so that the leading edge of the housing cantilt relativeto the trailing edge of the housing enough to conform to abeveled door.

6. In a latch bolt assembly as defined in claim 5 an improved housingfurther comprising a peripheral flange at the outer end of. the housingfor resting flush with a door edge.

7. In a latch bolt assembly having a housing suitable for insertion in ahole in the edge of the door and a latch bolt in the housing andengageable with a latch bolt operating assembly, an improved latch bolthousing comprising:

a first slit through a side wall of the housing on the side adjacent theleading door face;

a second slit through the side wall of the housing on the side adjacentthe trailing door face;

a web between each of the ends of the first and second slitsrespectively on opposite sides of the housing, said webs beingsufficiently bendable for relative opening of the trailing slit andclosing of the leading slit so that the leading edge of the housing cantilt relative to the trailing edge of the housing enough to conform to abeveled .door; and wherein each of the slits is relatively narrowernearer the inside of the housing and relatively wider near the outsideof the housing.

8. In a latch bolt assembly as defined in claim 7 an improved housingfurther comprising a 'thin web exa 6 tending across at least a portionof the first slit at the inside of the housing for providing a smoothtransition across the slit.

9. In a latch bolt assembly having a housing suitable for insertion in ahole in the edge of the door and a latch bolt in the housing andengageable with a latch bolt operating assembly, an improved latch bolthousing comprising:

a first slit through a side wall of the housing on the side adjacent theleading door face;

a second slit through the side wall of the housing on the side adjacentthe trailing door face;

a web between each of the ends of the first and second slitsrespectively on opposite sides of-the housing, said webs beingsufficiently bendable for relative opening of the trailing slit andclosing of the leading slit so that the leading edge of the housing cantilt relative tothe. trailing edge of the housing enough to conform to abeveled door; and

a pair of transverse apertures through side edges of the latch bolthousing adjacent the end further from the door edge; and furthercomprising:

a spring having one end in engagement with the latch bolt; and

a U-shaped spring retainer extending transversely to the latch bolt andhaving a bight portion in engagement with the other end of the spring, aportion of the legs of the spring retainer fitting into the apertures inthe latch bolt housing and preventing translation of the spring retainertowards the inner end of the latch bolt assembly, said spring retainerbeing sufficiently elastically deformable for insertion through theinside of the latch bolt housing.

10. In a door latch to be mounted on a door having an openingtherethrough adjacent one edge and having a hole in said edge into theopening, and having a latch operating assembly insertable into theopening, an improved latch bolt assembly insertable into a hole in thedoor edge comprising:

a latch bolt cylinder;

a pair of transverse apertures through side edges of the latch boltcylinder adjacent the end further from the door edge;

. a latch bolt extending longitudinally through the latch bolt cylinderand including a longitudinal opening therein and means for retaining aspring in the opening;

a coil spring having one end in engagement with the means for retaining;and

a U-shaped spring retainer extending transversely through the opening inthe latch bolt and having a bight portion in engagement with the otherend of the coil spring, an end of each of the legs of the springretainer fitting into each respective aperture in the latch boltcylinder and preventing translation of the spring retainer towards theinner end of the latch bolt assembly, said spring retainer beingsufficiently elastically deformable for insertion longitudinally throughthe inside of the latch bolt cylinder.

11. In a door latch to be mounted on a door having an openingtherethrough adjacent one edge and having a hole in said edge into theopening, and having a latch operating assembly insertable into theopening, an improved latch bolt assembly insertable into a hole in thedoor edge comprising:

a latch bolt cylinder;

a latch bolt extending longitudinally through the latch bolt cylinderand including a longitudinal opening therein and means for retaining aspring in I the opening;

a coil spring having one end in engagement with the means for retaining;and

a U-shaped spring retainer extending transversely through the opening inthe latch bolt and having a bight portion in engagement with the otherend of the coil spring, a portion of the legs of the spring retainerfitting into the apertures in the latch bolt cylinder and preventingtranslation of the spring retainer towards the inner end of the latchbolt assembly, said spring retainer being sufficiently elasticallydeformable for insertion through the inside of the latch bolt cylinder;said latch bolt cylinder comprising:

an inner cylinder insertable in the hole in the edge of the door;

an outer cylinder coaxial with the inner cylinder and including a dooredge engaging flange; and

a pair of webs interconnecting the inner and outer cylinders on thesides of the housing nearer the top and bottom of the door wheninstalled, said webs being sufficiently bendable to tilt the outercylinder relative to the inner cylinder enough to conform to the bevelon a standard door.

12. In an improved latch bolt assembly as defined in claim 1 1, animproved housing wherein the inner cylinder includes a plurality oflongitudinally extending raised ribs for inhibiting rotation of thecylinder when installed in a hole in the door.

13. In an improved latch bolt assembly as defined in claim 11 animproved housing wherein the inner and outer cylinders are separated bytransverse slits in the housing wall extending between the webs, each ofthe slits being relatively narrow nearer the inside of the housing andrelatively wider near the outside of the housing.

14. In an improved latch bolt assembly as defined in claim 13 animproved housing further comprising a thin transition web across atleast a portion of one of the slits adjacent the inside surface of thehousing.

iPo-wso v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION. iPatentNo. 3 71 887 v Dated F m 1.313 19,

Inventor(s) Joe B Ramsey It is certified that error appears in theabove-identified patent P and that said Letters Patent are herebycorrected as shown below:

- In the specificationQColumn 4, line 20, "optical" W should readoptional line 2 8, "injecting" should 1 read injection line 30, "weight"should read to 5 line 33, "of" should read for line 36, "'wei'gh" shouldf read weight Column 6, line 64; claim ll, after 5 "cylinder;" insertindented paragraph a pair of transverse f apertures through side edgesof the latch bolt cylinder adjacent the and further from the door edge;

Signed and sealed this 8th day of October 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

' McCOY M. GIBSON JR. c. MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer Commissioner ofPatents UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent N0.3,792,387 Dated February 19, 1974 Inventor'('s) Joe B. Ramsey It iscertified that error appears in the above-identified patent and thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

p In the heading on the patent there should be included: .--[30] ForeignApplication Priority Data June 2', 1972; Mexico; l35,924.-- I

In the specification:

. Column 4, line 20, "optical" should read optional linei, "injecting"should read injection line. '30, "weight" should read to 11mm, "of"should read for line, '36, "weigh" should read weight Column 6, line 64,claim 11, after "cylinder f insert indented paragraph a pair oftransverse apertures through side edges of the latch boltcylinderadjacent the end further from the door edge;

Signedand-sealed this 30th day of July 1974.

i (SEAL) Attest:

MCCOY M. GIBSON, JR. c. MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer Commissioner ofPatents

1. In a latch bolt assembly having a cylindrical housing fittable into ahole in the edge of the door, an improved housing comprising: arelatively longer inner cylinder insertable in the hole in the edge ofthe door for alignment with the hole in the door; a relatively shorterouter cylinder coaxial with the inner cylinder and including a door edgeengaging flange; and a pair of webs interconnecting the inner and outercylinders on the sides of the housing nearer the top and bottom of thedoor when installed, said webs being sufficiently bendable to tilt theouter cylinder relative to the inner cylinder enough to bring the flangeinto engagement with the bevel on a standard door.
 2. In a latch boltassembly as defined in claim 1 an improved housing wherein the innercylinder includes a plurality of longitudinally extending raised ribsfor inhibiting rotation of the cylinder when installed in a hole in thedoor.
 3. In a latch bolt assembly having a cylindrical housing fittableinto a hole in the edge of the door, an improved housing comprising: aninner cylinder insertable in the hole in the edge of the door; an outercylinder coaxial with the inner cylinder and including a door edgeengaging flange; a pair of webs interconnecting the inner and outercylinders on the sides of the housing nearer the top and bottom of thedoor when installed, said webs being sufficiently bendable to tilt theouter cylinder relative to the inner cylinder enough to conform to thebevel on a standard door; and wherein the inner and outer cylinders areseparated by transverse slits in the housing wall extending between thewebs; each of the slits being relatively narrow nearer the inside of thehousing and relatively wider near the outside of the housing.
 4. In alatch bolt assembly as defined in claim 3 an improved housing furthercomprising a thin transition web across at least a portion of one of theslits adjacent the inside surface of the housing.
 5. In a latch boltassembly having a housing suitable for insertion in a hole in the edgeof the door and a latch bolt in the housing, said latch bolt beinglongitudinally slidable in the housing and engageable with a latch boltoperating assembly, an improved latch bolt housing comprising: a firstslit through a side wall of the housing on the side adjacent the leadingdoor face; a second slit through the side wall of the housing on thEside adjacent the trailing door face; and a web between each of the endsof the first and second slits respectively on opposite sides of thehousing, said webs being sufficiently bendable for relative opening ofthe trailing slit and closing of the leading slit so that the leadingedge of the housing can tilt relative to the trailing edge of thehousing enough to conform to a beveled door.
 6. In a latch bolt assemblyas defined in claim 5 an improved housing further comprising aperipheral flange at the outer end of the housing for resting flush witha door edge.
 7. In a latch bolt assembly having a housing suitable forinsertion in a hole in the edge of the door and a latch bolt in thehousing and engageable with a latch bolt operating assembly, an improvedlatch bolt housing comprising: a first slit through a side wall of thehousing on the side adjacent the leading door face; a second slitthrough the side wall of the housing on the side adjacent the trailingdoor face; a web between each of the ends of the first and second slitsrespectively on opposite sides of the housing, said webs beingsufficiently bendable for relative opening of the trailing slit andclosing of the leading slit so that the leading edge of the housing cantilt relative to the trailing edge of the housing enough to conform to abeveled door; and wherein each of the slits is relatively narrowernearer the inside of the housing and relatively wider near the outsideof the housing.
 8. In a latch bolt assembly as defined in claim 7 animproved housing further comprising a thin web extending across at leasta portion of the first slit at the inside of the housing for providing asmooth transition across the slit.
 9. In a latch bolt assembly having ahousing suitable for insertion in a hole in the edge of the door and alatch bolt in the housing and engageable with a latch bolt operatingassembly, an improved latch bolt housing comprising: a first slitthrough a side wall of the housing on the side adjacent the leading doorface; a second slit through the side wall of the housing on the sideadjacent the trailing door face; a web between each of the ends of thefirst and second slits respectively on opposite sides of the housing,said webs being sufficiently bendable for relative opening of thetrailing slit and closing of the leading slit so that the leading edgeof the housing can tilt relative to the trailing edge of the housingenough to conform to a beveled door; and a pair of transverse aperturesthrough side edges of the latch bolt housing adjacent the end furtherfrom the door edge; and further comprising: a spring having one end inengagement with the latch bolt; and a U-shaped spring retainer extendingtransversely to the latch bolt and having a bight portion in engagementwith the other end of the spring, a portion of the legs of the springretainer fitting into the apertures in the latch bolt housing andpreventing translation of the spring retainer towards the inner end ofthe latch bolt assembly, said spring retainer being sufficientlyelastically deformable for insertion through the inside of the latchbolt housing.
 10. In a door latch to be mounted on a door having anopening therethrough adjacent one edge and having a hole in said edgeinto the opening, and having a latch operating assembly insertable intothe opening, an improved latch bolt assembly insertable into a hole inthe door edge comprising: a latch bolt cylinder; a pair of transverseapertures through side edges of the latch bolt cylinder adjacent the endfurther from the door edge; a latch bolt extending longitudinallythrough the latch bolt cylinder and including a longitudinal openingtherein and means for retaining a spring in the opening; a coil springhaving one end in engagement with the means for retaining; and aU-shaped spring retainer extending transversely through the opening inthe latch bolt and having a bight portIon in engagement with the otherend of the coil spring, an end of each of the legs of the springretainer fitting into each respective aperture in the latch boltcylinder and preventing translation of the spring retainer towards theinner end of the latch bolt assembly, said spring retainer beingsufficiently elastically deformable for insertion longitudinally throughthe inside of the latch bolt cylinder.
 11. In a door latch to be mountedon a door having an opening therethrough adjacent one edge and having ahole in said edge into the opening, and having a latch operatingassembly insertable into the opening, an improved latch bolt assemblyinsertable into a hole in the door edge comprising: a latch boltcylinder; a latch bolt extending longitudinally through the latch boltcylinder and including a longitudinal opening therein and means forretaining a spring in the opening; a coil spring having one end inengagement with the means for retaining; and a U-shaped spring retainerextending transversely through the opening in the latch bolt and havinga bight portion in engagement with the other end of the coil spring, aportion of the legs of the spring retainer fitting into the apertures inthe latch bolt cylinder and preventing translation of the springretainer towards the inner end of the latch bolt assembly, said springretainer being sufficiently elastically deformable for insertion throughthe inside of the latch bolt cylinder; said latch bolt cylindercomprising: an inner cylinder insertable in the hole in the edge of thedoor; an outer cylinder coaxial with the inner cylinder and including adoor edge engaging flange; and a pair of webs interconnecting the innerand outer cylinders on the sides of the housing nearer the top andbottom of the door when installed, said webs being sufficiently bendableto tilt the outer cylinder relative to the inner cylinder enough toconform to the bevel on a standard door.
 12. In an improved latch boltassembly as defined in claim 11, an improved housing wherein the innercylinder includes a plurality of longitudinally extending raised ribsfor inhibiting rotation of the cylinder when installed in a hole in thedoor.
 13. In an improved latch bolt assembly as defined in claim 11 animproved housing wherein the inner and outer cylinders are separated bytransverse slits in the housing wall extending between the webs, each ofthe slits being relatively narrow nearer the inside of the housing andrelatively wider near the outside of the housing.
 14. In an improvedlatch bolt assembly as defined in claim 13 an improved housing furthercomprising a thin transition web across at least a portion of one of theslits adjacent the inside surface of the housing.